Saguenay, Quebec, June 2, 2008 – The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of Canada Economic Development, today announced $347,914 in funding to the firm Concept Santavie Inc. This contribution breaks down as follows: $250,000 in the form of repayable funding through the Venture Capital Fund for Business Start-ups in the Regions, and $97,914 in the form of non-repayable funding under the Community Economic Diversification Initiative – Vitality (CEDI-Vitality). This financial assistance will enable this new food processing firm of Saguenay (La Baie borough) to begin operations, which will generate investments of more than $1.6 million and result in the creation of 10 or so jobs.
Concept Santavie Inc. has developed a new line of high-end health products marketed under the SÖM brand: entrées, ready-made dishes and desserts. The result of five years of research and development, these innovative products are intended to meet the nutritional needs-as defined by Health Canada, the Diabetes Foundation and the Heart and Stroke Foundation-of health-conscious consumers. Concept Santavie which, like all enterprises in the food sector, must comply with stringent manufacturing, packaging and safety regulations, has developed menus of dishes that have been tested, evaluated, created, prepared and packaged according to the highest quality standards.
"The creation of enterprises is critical for the vitality of the economy and the dynamism of Quebec's regions. I am convinced that the entire community will benefit from Concept Santavie's forward-looking project. It not only promotes the manufacture of high value-added products, but it also goes hand in hand with the Saguenay−Lac-Saint-Jean's 2008-2015 Agri-food Strategy," said Minister Blackburn.
The Venture Capital Fund for Business Start-ups in the Regions was created by Canada Economic Development in partnership with Quebec's Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs), Business Development Centres (BDCs), various venture capital firms and the Fondation de l'entrepreneurship. This fund serves to support business start-ups in seven regions and 21 Regional County Municipalities (RCMs). The Community Economic Diversification Initiative – Vitality (CEDI-Vitality) targets in particular projects of local reach that generate sustainable economic benefits in terms of enterprise and employment development.
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Sources:
Nadia Marceau
Communications
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 418-668-4602 or 1-800-463-9808
E-mail: nadia.marceau@dec-ced.gc.ca
Sylvain Frenette
Office of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn
Canada Economic Development
Tel.: 514-496-1282
E-mail: sylvain.frenette@dec-ced.gc.ca
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